Tragedy hits people of all races, genders, and financial statuses. Rapper and songwriter Nelly has certainly faced his own pain and loss.
While he is currently expecting his first child with now-wife Ashanti, Nelly has four other children. Two of them are adopted. He takes fatherhood extremely seriously.
Nelly has two children with ex-girlfriend Channetta Valentine. The two welcomed daughter Chanelle in 1994 and then their son Cornell in 1999.
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The two have certainly grown up following much of their father’s footsteps. Chanelle has a radio show and is working on her music career, starting around the same time that Nelly started his career back in the day.
Cornell is a sports enthusiast, and has dreams of becoming a producer, Hello! Magazine shared based on a social media post from his sister Chanelle.
Nelly also adopted his sister’s two children, Shawn and Sydney Thomas. His sister, Jackie Donahue, tragically passed away in 2005 due to leukemia.
This was shared with the world via Nellyville, the BET reality TV show in 2014. The series offered an insight into Nelly’s blended family, which he shared with Shantel Jackson at the time.
Shawn has dabbled in music like his uncle but has now turned to raising his own family. He has a daughter, Mahalia, who his girlfriend, Krista, had in 2020. Little is known about what Sydney is doing now, but Nelly only has good words about his relationship with her.
Nelly Raised All Four as a Single Father
After his relationship with Jackson broke down, Nelly ended up raising all four children as a single father. He has admitted that he couldn’t be there for everything, but he has made an effort to be there for all the key moments.
Adopting his niece and nephew was a “no-brainer,” he told Tamara Hall. He shared that they all needed each other at this point, and he had to step up.
He hasn’t fully done it alone, even when single. Family members have helped, but he shared that financially it has been on him. He also chuckled that the discipline has fallen on him as well.
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Nelly shared how the two children saved him and helped him while he was helping them. He was grieving too, and he was able to share memories and joy about his sister with the two children to help everyone through the process.
However, his grief would never take away from the two children’s grief. He couldn’t imagine what they were going through.
Nothing will change for the children as Nelly and Ashanti welcome their first child together. The two married in December 2023, according to Us Weekly. This is despite Ashanti sharing that the two were only engaged in April 2024, which is when she publicly confirmed her pregnancy. Before that, the pregnancy was just a rumor from an insider.
